Announcing the 2024–2025 Duke Chapel Concert Season
In its concert series for the 2024–2025 academic year, Duke University Chapel will present beloved musical traditions such as Handel’s Messiah, the Organ Recital Series, and the Bach Cantata Series, as well as guest artists new to the Chapel, including jazz musician Branford Marsalis, conductor Pearl Shangkuan, and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club.
Many concerts in the series are free due to the generous support of Chapel friends and partners; for ticketed concerts, tickets will be available through the Duke Box Office.
“This year it will be a joy to come together for music—in concert and in worship—that unites us to one another and refreshes our souls,” said the Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery, dean of Duke Chapel. “It is a blessing to share with the campus and wider communities a Chapel music program that has been receiving national and international accolades for sacred music performance and composition.”
As Duke University celebrates its centennial, the Chapel’s concert season will commemorate the anniversaries of a score of great composers: American voices such as Aaron Copland, William Dawson, Emma Lou Diemer, Alice Parker, and Randall Thompson, as well as European musicians like Anton Bruckner, Gabriel Fauré, Giacomo Puccini, and C. V. Stanford. It will also include a special Centennial Founders’ Sunday Service, with music honoring the diverse heritage of sacred song at the Chapel, and a farewell recital on all three Chapel organs by University Organist Dr. Robert Parkins, honoring his nearly fifty years of service to Duke.
“This year’s concert series looks backward and forward, reflecting on musical milestones in our programs, repertoire, and life together,” said Dr. Zebulon M. Highben, director of Chapel Music. “Working with so many talented singers and musicians, we look forward to presenting music that lifts hearts, strengthens bonds, and glorifies God.”